There is almost nothing more satisfying than opening the window after a long winter and hearing the sound of birds chirping and smelling that fresh spring air after a brief rain shower. I close my eyes and take a deep breath in, enjoying that crisp scent, but as soon as I open my eyes, reality quickly hits me. Dust is covering the screens, cobwebs are lurking in the corners, and dead bugs are adorning the window sills. It’s time to do a deep spring cleaning, but how can we tackle this necessary task on top of all of our other daily needs? This month’s theme will focus on ways to manage spring cleaning in your home.
We all love a good deep clean of our house – the one and only time we would pass a white-glove test, at least for me it is. But how do we find the time to tackle all of these projects when we’re on the go almost every single day? We’ll talk about four manageable steps to spring cleaning, which are to set realistic goals, develop a schedule, stay consistent, and have all of your supplies ready before you start.
Set Realistic Goals
Although it would be nice to get our whole entire house cleaned in a single day, we know it is absolutely not realistic unless we are paying an army of professional cleaners. Most of us do not have the luxury to afford this service, so let’s talk about how we can realistically manage this.
I’m a huge believer in goal setting. When we want to get something accomplished, we need to be very clear on our end goal and develop actionable steps to meet these goals. I talk more about this in my Grow Your Goals Workshop, so if you’re wondering where to begin, I suggest checking it out.
If you’re not new to goal setting and are ready to dive in, first assess your availability. Decide on a date you want all of your spring cleaning to be completed, and be sure you have the time available in your schedule to set aside to work on these tasks throughout the week or month. Be honest with yourself when setting this timeline. Setting a goal that isn’t attainable is the quickest way to fail.
Once you’ve decided when you will finish the project, break up the tasks by priority. Which rooms or jobs do you want to tackle first? Not all of the areas in your home require the same level of attention. Prioritize the most critical spaces you want to finish first and then move to those that are less important to you. For spring cleaning, I like to do a deep clean of bedrooms first, hitting the reset on all of the spots that aren’t given the most love during our regular cleanings, like the baseboards and walls. Then I tackle all of the windows in our home next. I love to get that dust off the screens and have a streak-free view out of my windows. This, of course, will be different for everyone, but you’ll need to make a list of areas by importance in order to develop your plan of attack.
Once you’ve prioritized your spaces, break each task into manageable chunks. We’ll be exploring this idea later this month to help you break down each room with task lists. Be sure to check back to get that valuable resource.
Develop A Schedule
Now that you’ve chosen which rooms you want to tackle first and when you want to finish your spring cleaning project, you need to decide when you are going to work on these tasks. Look at your calendar and find space that you have a chunk of time to spend on cleaning. You should have time blocks of at least an hour because you don’t want to dive into a project and then have to stop midway through because you need to pick up your kids or make dinner. You may not have an open hour throughout the week, so maybe you need to block off a longer time during the weekends. This schedule is going to be unique and personal to you, so don’t compare yourself to others when doing this. You need to do what works for you and your family in order to be successful. Also, remember that it is not just your job to tackle the cleaning schedule. Divide and conquer with your family so everyone takes ownership of the home.
Stay Consistent
If you gave every member of your household a chore to complete, be sure that everyone is sticking to their schedule and getting it done. Celebrating mini successes is a great way to keep everyone motivated. Taking time for a family game night or grabbing a special sweet treat together recognizes everyone’s hard work and contribution to spring cleaning.
If there is a night someone missed completing their task or an activity popped up that hindered sticking to a schedule, be flexible and understanding. These things will happen, but the small hiccups shouldn’t throw off all of your progress. Hit the reset button for that particular chore and find another time to tackle it. It’s not the end of the world if your schedule gets rearranged.
Have All of Your Materials Ready
It’s important to have everything purchased and accessible before starting a large project like spring cleaning. If you have to stop what you’re doing to go purchase something or find an item in your house, you will lose momentum, which ultimately ends in the job not being completed. By having everything ready to go and at your fingertips, you can tackle all of your tasks with no interruptions, which means you’ll stick to that schedule and complete spring cleaning by your desired end date. Later this month, I will be talking about all of my favorite cleaning supplies and how I use them, so be sure to tune in.
To review, tackling a spring cleaning schedule can be overwhelming, but if you set goals, develop a schedule, stay consistent, and have all of the necessary materials, you can successfully deep clean your home and have a relaxing place to sit while you open your windows and breathe in the clean spring air and listen to those birds sweetly sing.
If you found this blog to be helpful, please pollinate joy by sharing it with a friend who would also find it beneficial. As always, if you are struggling with creating systems within your home or tackling large decluttering projects, please reach out to me for a 30-minute free consultation to discuss how I can help you and your family create beauty and order in a chaotic world.
